Regulator for brake rigging



w. H. S AUVA GE 1,991,261 REGULATOR FOR BRAKE RIGGING Feb. 12, 1935.

Ofiginal' Filed June 13, 1928 ATrokygyp' Patented Feb. 12, 1935 1,991,261

1,991,261 v I 'qnncnm'ron non BRAKE RIGGING 1 William H. Sauvage, New York, N. YY., assignor,

-; by mesne assignments, to RoyalRallway Im- I --provements Corporation, New York, N. Y., a

. PA EN ounce,

I, 'orporation of. Delaware Application June 13, 1928, Serial No. 285,173

Renewed July 18,1934

y, y I I I 15 Claims.- (01.188-197) p This 'invention relatesjto improvements in mechanism (greatly reduced in'size) as are "regulators for the brake rigging of railway ve necessary to fully understandtheinvention: hicles,"and moreparticularly tomanually actu- Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the v a'ted regulators especially adaptable for assoregulator showing in full lines the parts in nor- 'ciation with the truck brake rigging, altho it m'al position, and in dotted lines the'actuated 5 isof eour'se'to be understood that without maposition; V terial modification andalteration the invention Fig. 3 is a transverse'sectionalview. thru the is equally applicable to the foundation brake' central part of the regulator inthe direction gear itself. "The presentinvention may thereof the arrow 3, Fig. 2; fore be considered an improvement over that Fig. 4 is a detail view of the anchor plate; 10

type of regulator shown in Fig. 4 of my 00- and e I 1 pending application, ser. No. 230,349, filed Fig. 5 is a detail view showing a means for November 1, 1927; operating the regulator from the side of the 'One of the objects of the present invention is car. I l5 to provide a simple and practical regulator of Referring now to the drawing in detail and the abov eneralfcharacter, which will be remore particularly to Fig. 1, the numeral .5 indiliable and efllcient inuse and operation. cates a truck bolsterto one side of which is 3 A further object is to provide a regulator of positioned a live lever 6 connected by means the above type having relatively few parts which of pull rod '7 with the foundation brake gear.

' may be inexpensively manufactured and as- A tie rod 8 connects the lower end of the live 20 s'embled. 1 lever with the lower end of the dead lever 10, A further object is to provide a brake rigging and both of these levers carry truck brake beams regulator of the above type pivotally or uni- '11 of usual construction. The upper end of. the versally mounted in order that stresses and dead lever 10 is flexibly connected as by'means strains "exerted thereon may betaken up more of aechain or elongated clevis 13 with one end 25 nearly-inthe directionof the line ofpull. of; a regulator or take up rod 14: preferably A further object is to provide a mechanism provided with ratchet teeth 15 upon its upper as above, which may be easily and quickly apsurface. This rod passes thruaregulator casing "plied to brake rigging now in-general use with- Y or housing 16 connected by means of universally but'material modification or alteration of parts. or swivelly mounted bolt 1'1 and associated fit- 30 A further objectis to provide a foolproof regtings with a flange 1810f one of the center draft ulator'of the above character adapted to insure sills. predetermined brake shoe clearance and uni- -The end ofthe .rod 14 is provided with an form piston travel. actuating handle 20 to permitthe sameto be Other objects will be in'part obvious from grasped by the inspector and pulled bodily 35 I the annexed drawing and in part hereinafter towards the left, whereby any excess brake shoe indicated in connection therewith by the followclearance may be permanently taken up and ing analysis of this invention. absorbed as will be hereinafter more fully ex This invention accordingly consists in the planned. n v 40 features of construction, combination of parts .The regulator as above stated comprises a 40 and in the unique relation of the members and .housing 16 of elongated, rectangular shape as a in therelative proportioning and disposition, clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and the lower thereof, all 'as'more completely outlined herein. part of both. end walls is provided with an To enable others skilled in the art "to 'fully opening 21 thru which the rod.14, is adapted 5'o'ompr'ehend the underlying features thereof to pass freely. The bottomot the housing is that theymay embody the samebythe numercut away as at'22 for-thepurpose of assembly, ous modifications in structure-and relation conas well as to prevent dust and dirtcr-moisture templated by this invention, a drawing, depicting collecting within the :casingtending. to cause a ya preierred formmf' the invention has been sticking of the parts. ,The ratchet teeth.15 are anne redasa part of this disclosure, and in such adapted to be engaged by the'heel 23 of a freely 50 drawing, like characters of reference-denote cormountedbodilyxnovablepawl 24, loosely fitting fespondingpa ts throughout all of the views, in within. the housing as shown in Fig. 3. The

i which,-

.1 H pawl is provided with aroun m d 25 adapted Fig-,1 1 is ageneral 'elevational view showing to engage over are, tively large surface .with

i! 11 S n get he la or s a so brake h i hfl te end-we l th 9 481 8 65 18 as shown by the full line position in Fig. 2. It will be noted that the line of pull exerted upon the rod 14 reacts at substantially forty- :hve degrees. thus positively insuring ainst slipp e of the rod 14 towards the right.

Thepawl 24 as herein shown is provided with a relatively wide flat projection 28 adapted to rest upon the upper edge of the teeth 15 when in holding position, while its upper side is provided with an oppositely extending projection 27 normally engaging the depressed right hand surface 28 of the inside of the top of the casing. In this manner, the pawl is positively locked in engaged position, and there will be no danger of the same moving clear of the ratchet teeth due to jolting and jarring of the car.

Theleft hand portion of the top surface of the casing 16 is provided with an elongated recess 30 to receive the projection 27 and connecting with the surface 28 by a diagonal surface 31. When the regulator is actuated, the pawl 24 moves from its full line position toward the left to the dotted line position, whereupon tl: pro- Jection 2'7 is free to move up into the recess 30 and allow one or more of the ratchet teeth 15 to click under the heel 23 of the pawl and thereby absorb all excess travel. When the regulator handle is released, the pawl 24 is carried bodily towards the right and cammed down by surface 31 from its dotted to full line position, and this free movement of app oximately three inches is proportional to total truck brake shoe clearance. In this manne any danger of dragging brake shoes is positively eliminated, for the weight of the live and dead levers will cause the brake beams naturally to drop clear and restore the regulator to the position as shown in Fig. 2.

As previously stated, the housing 16 is pivotally or universally mounted upon the draft sill of the car, whereby the line of pull exerted upon the regulator is substantially coincident with the axis of the rod 14. This universal connection or mounting comprises the pivot bolt 17 which passes thru aslightly enlarged hole: 32, Fig. 4, in a T-shaped bracket 33 riveted or otherwise permanently secured at 34 to the draft sill flange 18. The lower part of the bolt or top of the casing is provided with a rounded or spherical surface 35, and the coacting nut 36 is similarly provided with a rounded surface 37 whereby the housing is free to swing in arm direction. A cotter hole and pin 38 is provided for holding the nut in secured position.

Inassembling the mechanism above described, the pawl 24 is first passed upwardly thru the opening 22 and then the rod 14 moved into place thru the end openings 21, after which the handle 20 is spot-welded or otherwise secured to the end of the rod, or if preferred, the eye for attaching the clevis 13 at the opposite end may be secured to the rod 14 if the rod and handle 20 are integrally made, this being a mere matter of structural detail that can be modified as desired. Itis only necessary to secure the part 33 to the draft sill, after which the regulator is attached thru the hole 32, as above described, and the nut 36 locked in secure position. The present construction therefore provides a universal joint attachment for the regulator whereby the same will yield freely in any direction in the line of resistance as the car body moves up and down on the truck turns relatively thereto.

The operation of the device is of course obvious tothosefamiliarwiththeartanditrequires merelyafullstrongpulltobeexertedtowards the left on the handle. which moves and releases the .pawl from its locking engagement and per- .mits the excess travel in the brake rigging to be absorbed. It should be noted, however, that stop means of some sort such as indicated at the rightof Fig.1. must be provided for most efficient and desirable results. As herein shown, I prefer to attache clevis 40 to the end of pull rod 7, the upper part of the clevis looping over a depending -U-shaped bracket or support 41 riveted or otherwise secured to the flange 18 of the draft sill. This clevis 40 freely slides along its carrier during the operation of the brakes or the regulator and positively prevents a relative movement of the pull rod 7 toward the left beyond certainpredetermined limits, thereby preventing a disturbanceof the angularity of the foundation brake gear and the truck brake rigging at the opposite end of the. car; In other words, when a regulator of the type herein described is applied to each truck of the car as distinguished from one associated with the central foundation brake gear, means must be provided to prevent the taking up of the entire lost motion and a disturbance of the angularity of the other brake levers of the rigging.

In 5, there is shown an attachment for opera ing the regulator from the side of the car. It may not always be convenient 'to pull the regulator from the end of the car due to the close proximity of other cars, and there is accordingly provided a flexible connection such as a chain'42 attached to the clevis and passing around a pulley wheel 43 and thence thru an opening in the outer sill 44 where it terminates inahandring45. Thusbypullingonthisring, the regulator is operated in the same manner as occurs by pulling on the end handle as above described. Whenever it is desired to replace worn brake shoes, itisofcoursetorestoreallthe working parts to full release position as shown in Fig. 1, and this is accomplished by first pulling the handle 20 towards the left and then giving the same a slight quarter turn or twist whereby the pawl rides along the smooth side surface of the rod 14 during its return movement. When the handle is released, it will drop by gravity, thus bringing the pawl and teeth back .into cooperative relation. A single operation thereafter absolutely adjusts the rigging to proper clearance and piston trav From the above, it will be apparent that the present invention provides a simpler construction than that shown in my previous application above identified, and one which will have fewer working parts and accordingly give greater life to the regulator. The parts being universally mounted and provided with sufficient working clearance, there will be no danger of sticking or binding due to uneven pull thereby giving great- ,er efliciency and making the device relatively fool-proof and dirt-proof. g

Without further analysis the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of this invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting certain features that, from the standpoint of the prior art, fairly constituteessential characteristics of the generic or speciflc aspects of this invention, and therefore such adaptations should and are intended to be s a member adapted to comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of the following claims. a

I claim: Y

1. In combination with a brake rigging lever, be secured to a draft sill of a car, a regulator universally mounted on said member and flexibly connected with the brake rigging, and means for operating said regulator from the side oi the car. a

2. In combination with a brake rig i lever, a regulator adapted to be pivotally secured to a car body. means associated with said member and provided with a lost motion adapted to absorb any excess travel of the brake riggings and maintain proper brake shoe clearance, and a pivotally mounted connection associated with one of the brake rigging levers-and connected with the car body adapted to prevent the regulating movement of the truck brake rigging from disturbing the anguiarity of the levers of the foundation brake rigging.

3. In combination with truck brake rigging levers, a regulator pivotally supported from the frame of the car comprising a housing, a freely mounted pawl in said housing, a round ratchet rod passing thru said housing and coacting with said pawl, a flexible connection between one end of said rod and truck brake rigging, said pawl being normally locked in engagement with said ratchet and the actuation of the regulator having a predetermined movement substantially proportional to brake shoe clearance prior to absorption of excess travel of the brake rigging, and pivotally mounted means associated with one of the truck brake levers adapted to prevent excess regulating movement being transmitted to the foundation brake gear.

4. In combination with truck brake rigging levers, a regulator housing pivotally supported from the car body, a bodily movable pawl in said housing having a free movement substantially proportional to brake shoe clearance, a round ratchet bar cooperating with said pawl and flexibly connected with one of the levers of the truck brake rigging, and means associated with said ratchet bar whereby the same may be moved with the pawl and then rotated to carry the pawl out of engagement with the ratchet whereby the regulator may. be restored to full release position as when applying new brake shoes. 5. In combination with a truck brake rigging lever, a regulator housing pivotally supported from the car body, a bodily movable pawl in said housing having a free movement substantially proportional to brake shoe. clearance, a round ratchet bar cooperating with said pawl and flexibly connected with one of the levers of the truck brake rigging, means associated with said ratchet bar whereby the same may be moved with the pawl and then rotated to carry the pawl out of engagement with the ratchet whereby the regulator may be restored to full release position as when applying new brake shoes, and means associated with the other truck brake lever adapted to prevent excess regulating movement from being transmitted to the foundation brake gear.

6. In combination with truck brake rigging levers, a regulator housing pivotally supported from the car body, a bodily movable pawl in said housing having a free movement substantially proportional to brake shoe clearance, a round ratchet bar cooperating with said pawl and flexibly connected with one of the levers of the truck brake rigging. means associated with said ratchet bar whereby the same may be moved with the'pawl and then rotated to carry the pawl out of engagement with the ratchet whereby the regulator may be restored to full release position as when applying new brake shoes. and means associated with said ratchet bar and extending to one side of the car whereby the regulating movement may be performed at the side of the car.

'7. In combination with truck brake rigging levers, a regulator housing pivotally supported from the car body, a bodily movable pawl in said housing having a free movement substantially proportional to brake shoe clearance, a round ratchet bar cooperating with said pawl and flexibly connected with one of the levers of the truck brake rigging, means associated with said ratchet bar whereby the same may be moved with the pawl and then rotated to carry the pawl out of engagement with the ratchet whereby the regulator may be restored to full release position as when applying new brake shoes, and means associated with said ratchet bar and extending to one side of the car whereby the regulating movement may be performed at the side of the car, said last means including a flexible connection terminating in an operating handle at theside of the car.

8. In combination with a. brake rigging lever, a manually actuated regulator connected with said lever comprising a housing, a ratchet bar passing into said housing, a pawl cooperating with said ratchet and normally locked in engaged position by said hous ng, said housing having a recess into which said pawl may move during the regulating operation thereby to permit a take up on said ratchet, and means independently of the ratchet bar for actuating said regulator from a relatively remote point.

9. In combination with a brake rigging lever, a manually actuated regulator adapted to be secured to a relatively fixed part of a car comprising an enclosing housing to protect the parts from atmospheric conditions, a ratchet rod telescoping with said housing, a coacting pawl within said housing having a lost motion movement proportional to brake shoe clearance adapted to prevent movement of said rod in one direction, said rod being connected at one end with said brake lever, and an independent actuating member extending substantially parallel to said rod and having an operative point of connection between said lever and rod, and an operating member extending to a side of the car whereby said regulator may be manually actuated from a remote point without necessitating one going under the car.

10. In a manually actuated regulator of the character described, in combination, brake rigging levers, an enclosed regulator casing mounted upon a relatively fixed part of the car, a movable ratchet rod telescoping into said housing and connected with one of said levers, a pawl mounted within the housing and coacting with said ratchet rod, a lost motion device associated with said regulator adapted to insure brake shoe clearance, and a manually actuated member connected with one of said parts and extending to a point substantially at one end of the car whereby the brake shoes may first be brought into engagement with the wheels without effectively actuating said regulator and then absorb excess travel if and when it exists on further position substantially parallel to said ratchet rod.

11. In a manually actuated regulator of the character described, in combination, brake rigging levers, a regulator casing having an enlarged part and a reduced part, a ratchet rod telescoping into said casing, a pawl mounted within one part of said casing adapted to coact with said ratchet rod, one of said levers being connected with said ratchet rod, and a manually operable actuating member adapted to be. connected with said lever and extending to a point adjacent a side of the car whereby said regulator may be manually actuated to substantially instantaneously regulate the brake rigging.

12. In a manually actuated regulator of the character described, in combination, brake rigging levers, a regulator casing having an enlarged part and a reduced part, a ratchet rod telescoping into said casing, a pawl mounted within one part of said casing adapted to coact with said ratchet rod, one of said levers being connected with said ratchet rod, and a manually operable actuating member adapted to be connected with said lever and extending to a point adjacent a side of the car whereby said regulator may be manually actuated to substantially instantaneously regulate the brake rigging, and a lost motion device associated with one of said parts whereby brake s'hoe clearance is insured.

13. In a manually actuated regulator of the character described, in combination, brake rigging levers, a regulator casing adapted to be rigidly secured to a relatively fixed part of the car, said casing comprising an enlarged portion and a reduced portion, a holding rod telescoping into said housing and protected from atmospheric conditions by both portions thereof, a holding device cooperating with said holding rod and housed within one portion of said casing, a lost motion device associated with the holding rod for insuring brake shoe clearance, and an independent member extending substantially parallel to said rod to a point adjacent a side of the car for manually actuating said regulator.

' 14. In a manually actuated regulator of the character described, in combination, brake rigging levers, a regulator casing adapted to be secured to a relatively fixed part of the car, said casing including an enlarged portion and a re duced portion, a holding rod telescoping into said casing, a holding device engaging said holding rod adapted to prevent movement thereof during an application of the brakes, means for holding said last means in operative relation to said rod, means outside of said casing for manually releasing said holding means, a lost motion device associated with the holding rod for insuring brake shoe clearance, and a member extending substantially to a side end of the car for manually actuating said regulator.

15. In a manually actuated regulator of the character described, in combination, brake rigging levers, a regulator casing adapted to be secured to a relatively fixed part of the car, said casing including an enlarged portion and a reduced portion, a holding rod telescoping into said casing, a holding device engaging said holding rod adapted to prevent movement thereof during an application of the brakes, means for holding said last means in operative relation to said rod, means outside of said casing for manually releasing said holding means, a lost motion device associated with the holding rod for insuring brake shoe clearance, a member extending substantially to a side end of the car for manually actuating said regulator, and stop means adapted to coact with the other of said levers whereby the effectiveness of the regulating movement is confined to the levers with which said regulator is directly associated.

WILLIAM H. SAUVAGE. 

